The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread from MPR News

The Thread® is your source for book recommendations and other literary news.

Ask a Bookseller

Ask a Bookseller is a weekly series where The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. Listen to Ask a Bookseller to find your next favorite book.

Big Books and Bold Ideas

Big Books and Bold Ideas is a weekly series hosted by Kerri Miller every Friday at 11 a.m., featuring conversations about books and other literary ideas. Listen to Big Books and Bold Ideas here.

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Sign up for The Thread newsletter to get reading recommendations from Kerri Miller and other bookworms around the MPR newsroom. Find reviews for new releases, as well as hidden gems you may have missed.

Talking Volumes

Talking Volumes is back for its 25th season. Join us at the Fitzgerald Theater for four special events with renowned authors, celebrating our anniversary with a special $25 ticket price for MPR members and Star Tribune subscribers. Buy tickets here.

Want to create a stronger bond with your kids? First relinquish control
It may sound counterintuitive, but if you want to take charge as a parent, stop trying to control your child, says psychologist and author Shefali Tsabary. Her new book, "The Parenting Map," lays out a step-by-step guide for creating conscious parent-child relationships.
In J. Ryan Stradal's new book, the Midwest supper club is a character unto itself
“Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club” is a family drama set in and around a supper club in the fictional northern Minnesota town of Bear Jaw. Author J. Ryan Stradal says it’s “the kind of book you can’t take the Minnesota out of in editing.”
'Symphony of Secrets' is an ode to music stolen and composers erased
Brendan Slocumb returns to Big Books and Bold Ideas with another musical mystery. This time, he’s tell the story of a musicologist who uncovers a betrayal by his favorite composer.
How dogs become themselves and other wonders of puppyhood
Animal Month on Big Books and Bold Ideas ends with an encore presentation of host Kerri Miller’s conversation with dog researcher Alexandra Horowitz who literally wrote the book on puppies.
Environmental journalist Oliver Milman on why you should care about 'The Insect Crisis'
Environmental journalist Oliver Milman says we are experiencing an unprecedented crisis in the world of insects. And it’s bad news for humans, too.